USA vs CHN perspectives on N Korea, Gatherings of 8 to be allowed, 2/3 of Crypto Exchanges may be forced to close
K-NEWS BITES
Fri 2021-09-17
National News
Gov't on alert over Chuseok gatherings (2 min read)
The health authorities are urging citizens to refrain from gathering and traveling, amid growing concerns that the country's virus cases are likely to reach a peak during the Chuseok holiday. Experts are concerned that the virus spread will gain speed after Chuseok, and predict that infections will continue to increase especially in the capital area. Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said,"While quarantine authorities and local governments in the metropolitan area will concentrate all their quarantine capabilities, we urge the public to stay home instead of traveling to visit relatives during the holidays,” The measures proposed by the ministry included: greeting through videos between family members and relatives, refraining from close contact with others, not using dense and closed multi-use facilities, and not participating in gatherings with unspecified numbers of participants such as alumni associations.[article extract; minor edits made].
International human rights groups criticize Korea's 'fake news' bill (1 min read)
Human Rights Watch and three other human rights organizations have sent a joint letter to President Moon Jae-in and the National Assembly calling for the revision of a media bill accused of undermining press freedom.The legislation calls for punitive damages up to five times more than usual if a media outlet is found guilty of running false or manipulated news reports. Critics argue that it could be used to silence critical media. [For example] Expressions like "'information manipulated to be construed as fact' are particularly vague and could be used to penalize opinion pieces, satire or parody," the letter said. [article extract; minor edits made].
Coronavirus
Private Gatherings of Up to 8 People Allowed in Capital Region from Friday (1 min read)
Private gatherings of up to eight people will be allowed... until next Thursday across the nation, including Seoul, Incheon and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province. Family gatherings of up to eight people will be allowed if the group includes four fully vaccinated people. However, such family gatherings will only be allowed at home in areas under Level Four, with eating out or outdoor activities banned. [article extract; minor edits made].
New cases fall under 2,000; post-holiday infections in focus (2 min read)
The country added 1,943 COVID-19 cases, including 1,921 local infections, raising the total caseload to 279,930. The latest caseload was down from 2,080 cases the previous day. The country added six more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,386. The fatality rate was 0.85 percent. South Koreans will have a five-day holiday period from Saturday to Wednesday. They will enforce special quarantine measures, including running COVID-19 testing clinics at highway rest stops, for two weeks through Sept. 26, urging people to stay at home and receive vaccine shots. [article extract; minor edits made].
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
From The Rest of the World
South Korea’s Traffic Violence Epidemic (4 min read)
When struck by a car going 30 km/h, one in 10 pedestrians will die. At 50 km/h, half of pedestrians will die. At 60 km/h, 90 percent of pedestrians struck will die. This year South Korea finally reduced its urban speed limits from 60 to 50 km/h. The move has had an immediate effect, with police reporting a 16.7 percent reduction in pedestrian deaths and no increase in commute times. But this will not be enough to bring South Korea in line with other developed nations. South Korean pedestrians die at a rate three times higher than the OECD average. A primary reason for this is a lack of enforcement. In South Korea, even the most basic traffic laws, such as stopping at pedestrian crossings, are not enforced. [article extract; minor edits made].
North Korea
Debating North Korea: US and Chinese perspectives (10 min read)
Washington policymakers have become quite negative on prospects for U.S.-China cooperation on the DPRK issue. The biggest problem, of course, is the current deteriorating U.S.-China relationship and the mutual suspicion of intentions that goes along with that. The article includes an exchange of views between Susan Thornton, Project Director of the Forum on Asia-Pacific Security at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, and Li Nan, Senior Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, [which] highlights the differing perspectives, mutual suspicions and lingering contradictions between the U.S. and China on North Korea policy and the prospects for future negotiations. [article extract; minor edits made].
Sci-Tech
Two-third Crypto Exchanges in South Korea on the verge of closure (2 min read)
New regulations will have a tight hold over crypto exchanges, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit announced on Sunday. According to the announcement, every crypto exchange will have to register with the Finance Service Commission. Those failing to do so will be shut down by Sept 24. At present, there are 60 crypto exchanges in the country. However, only one-third are certified. With this, it will be obligatory for banks to decline any money transfers to uncertified crypto exchanges.[article extract; minor edits made].
S. Korea to Launch Solid-Fuel Space Rocket by 2024 (1 min read)
South Korea plans to launch a domestically developed solid-fuel space rocket by 2024, officials said Thursday, and becoming one of just seven nations in the world with full launch capabilities. The rocket will carry a small, 500 kilogram reconnaissance satellite designed to watch over the Korean Peninsula.[article extract; minor edits made].
Miscellaneous
Sherlock Holmes in Seoul? South Korea Opens the Door for ‘Private Detectives’ (3 min read)
South Korea’s Private Investigation Association (PIA) has been receiving unprecedented inquiries over the past few weeks from people who are interested in becoming a private “detective.” The sudden surge of interest in the profession came after South Korea officially allowed the use of the term “private detective” in the country last month. The government previously did not allow such a term under the Credit Information Use and Protection Act, “The law states that no person, other than a credit information company, shall perform ‘finding out a certain person’s whereabouts and contacts’ and ‘investigating his or her private life.’ According to the PIA, there were a total of 4,299 registered private investigators in South Korea as of the end of 2019… 21.4 percent of jobs taken by private investigators in South Korea involved locating a missing person or a wanted person, 18.8 percent were related to divorces and family feuds, 8.9 percent involved an investigation of the financial situation of other people, and 4.5 percent were about personal security, such as the removal of wiretapping or hidden cameras.[article extract; minor edits made].
TGIF - Food & Events
Providing the Best "Bang for your Buck"Italian Hospitality
It can be difficult to find good Italian food at a reasonable price around Seoul. Here’s a recommendation! Brera - located just above Hannam-dong and self described as: Established in 2015… Brera serves home-style Italian food with a focus on Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Lazio and Campania regions. Recipes are from founders’ grandmothers, yet updated and improved by the most modern cooking techniques and equipement. In particular, the kitchen produces its own fresh pastas, extruded daily from the MonferrinaP3 bronze dies; makes its own cheeses, like the mascarpone for the tiramisu; slow cooks all the sauces as for example the 8 hours bolognese ragu; cures the pancetta for an authentic carbonara; kneads the dough to hand-make gnocchi; crushes the basil leaves for an epic Genovese pesto and much more. Everything to be enjoyed with the wines selected by our certified sommelier. Mouth watering yet? The Melanzane Alla Parmigiana (think eggplant “lasagne”) and their pizzas are personal favourites!